Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai
by somebodi-else
Summary: ANBU-Drabbles. There are enough shadows in the Darkside, no need to add more.
1. Lamb

Anbu drabbles on my head cannons.

I wrote these all up in under an hour. Reviews are appreciated.

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Life as a civillian-born nin is hard.

Its harder when your appearance is ambigous enough that you are an asset for undercover missions.

Because if you can be stealthy, and are capable of taking orders, you might be inducted into ANBU Black Ops. It doesn't matter if you want nothing to do with the assasination squad. It doesn't matter if you aren't likely to survive the missions, if you can forfil the objective, you are a sacrificial lamb ripe for the picking.

Pity is, the lamb is honored for its purpose.

Rookies aren't, they fill the gap in the roster.


	2. Mask

The masks operatives wear have different meanings. It is a division of rank, in a faction that has no ranks.

If your mask is plain with only minute details showing your animal codename,you are one of the ghosts; agents so drained of their personality and their life outside of ANBU that they cease to remove the mask. The exceptions being; the removal of a partially damaged mask, when it is slid just high enough to eat, and death.

Like Root, in a way. But their faces are mask enough.

Legends like Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi, and others far more gifted than even the best, those graced with the gods damned Kekkei Genkei, wear white, with standard black denoting their animal code name, a second color, ususally red is overlayed to seperate them from the newbies and low level ANBU _(kunai_ _fodder)._ They represent the black ops faction to outsiders. _(every_ _one_ _outside_ _ANBU_ _is_ _an_ _outsider,_ _even_ _the_ _Hokage) _Many of the high ranked or unranked missions are carried out by them, to give the village the illusion of power.

Low-levels who haven't cracked, died or moved on are partially integrated into society but they live as if two lives. One where you are cold, merciless, and everyone could be a threat. And the other where you are the Watanabe's sweet daughter who is taking the Jounin exams this fall, isn't that exciting? They know to never ever let the two mix.

Newbies usually didn't wear one unless on a mission. In such cases, you wear the standard white with black accents of the code name assigned to you.

Traditionally only 140 of these masks have ever been made. Never more than fifty are ever in use. Only fourteen of them were ever broken, lost or stolen. Inductees are threatened with loss of limb and the hardest _(deadliest)_ mission avalibe if they are to cause the disappearnce of the fifteenth.

When you learn the true number of inductees killed during a first mission, you realize why.

The masks are older than Konoha itself, made by a peddler woman who followed the Sarutobi during the Warring Clans Era. She was nearly nintey years old when the village was formed, and had hand painted each and every one before she died. Thus, in a laquered box on a shelf behind the head of ANBU's desk in the underground head quarters, lies the shards of every broken mask. Everytime one broke, _(two_ _during_ _the_ _Shodai's_ _reign,_ _one during the Nidaime's, one during either of the Sandaime's, seven during the Kyuubi attack_) the current head will send out every agent not on mission(_No, I don't give a damn if you just got home from one, Tora just had his guts stitched back in._)to track down every last flake of pottery. The three others are the one shame of all agents(_Shodai lost one to his rival in a game of shougi, two were stolen during Uchiha Massacre)_.

You learn to never let the mask out of sight or reach. It is a confusing moment when you ponder of what will happen to it when you die. Obviously it will be returned to the village by a team mate. And when the next batch of rookies comes through, handed to another simple minded inductee as they hear its history.

You wonder if it is worrisome if you've begun to ponder your own death. ANBU shouldn't care about something so commonplace as death. Neither should you, Mother is making a special dinner tomarrow, to celebrate your promotion.


	3. At Least

A harsh knock sounds on the door and you rise from your seat, mask in place.

"Mission" the squad leader says. He turns imediatly to inform others.

Your captain is gruff, but who isn't in ANBU?

With out the mask you would've felt slighted by this less than sterling treatment. At least you remember how to feel.

At least you aren't ROOT.

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_In Root, you have no name. You have no feelings. You have no past. You have no future. There is only the mission. _- Root Creed, Sai.


	4. Shadows

There is a superstision amongst the squads, that the previous owner of a mask never left. You understand dimly, you've felt the twinge of foriegn chakra in the bone white porcelin against your skin.

Crow. That's what you were asigned upon induction.

Your mask had been stored away for three years before you got it. Its against protocal to know who's who in Anbu. But you can assume that your mask was used by an Uchiha at one point. The tale-tell chakra residue on the eye holes is a strong give away, as there hasn't been a new Hyuuga in the ranks for thirteen years. The lingering traces are too strong to be that old.

Though you understand, it does not mean you welcome it. Rookie gossip isn't ment to be fact. It doesn't help that sometimes, the others in your squad (specifically the man in the cat mask) pause a breath too long when they look up. You are sure that they see someone else in your place. Given that you and your predecessor share a 'face', an identity varied only by gender.

_(Female Anbu are in short order, rarer than the average kunoichi. It is more than likely that your predecessor was male.) _You've narrowed what is left to fill in the blanks, a name is almost unnessacry. _It helps that ocasionally some one will murmur Weasel-san to your back._

You won't ask for his name, you're almost positive of his identity, but if you are right (its hard not to be) there will be expectations, silent shadows hanging over your head.

There are enough shadows on the darkside, there is no need to add more.

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Review please.


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